The Relation between Parentification, Self-Liking and Self-Competence, Coping and Symptoms of Psychopathology in University Students

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati odnos parentifikacije u djetinjstvu i/ili adolescenciji, samosviđanja, samokompetentnosti te suočavanja sa stresom sa psihopatološkim simptomima kod studenata. Također, svrha je bila ispitati mogućnost predviđanja razine psihopatoloških simptoma na temelju iskustva parentifikacije, razine samopoštovanja i korištenih strategija suočavanja, kao i postoji li medijacija u odnosu parentifikacije i psihopatoloških simptoma. Istraživanje je provedeno putem interneta na uzorku od 235 studenata raznih sveučilišta u Republici Hrvatskoj. Sudionici su ispunili Skalu djetetove odgovornosti – verzija za odrasle (Jurkovic i Thirkield, 1999), Revidiranu skalu samosviđanja i samokompetentnosti (Tafarodi i Swann, 2001), Skraćenu verziju COPE upitnika (Carver, 1997) i Upitnik depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa (Lovibond i Lovibond, 1995). Rezultati su pokazali da su parentifikacija i izbjegavanje pozitivno povezani sa psihopatološkim simptomima, dok su samosviđanje, samokompetentnost i suočavanje usmjereno na problem negativno povezani sa psihopatološkim simptomima. Nadalje, samosviđanje predviđa nižu razinu psihopatoloških simptoma, dok parentifikacija u djetinjstvu i izbjegavanje predviđaju višu razinu psihopatoloških simptoma. Konačno, pokazalo se kako samosviđanje i izbjegavanje djelomično posreduju u vezi parentifikacije i psihopatoloških simptoma.The aim of this study was to examine the relations between childhood parentification, self-liking, self-competence and coping strategies with psychopathological symptoms in university students. The purpose was also to determine the possibility of predicting levels of psychopathological symptoms through parentification, self-esteem and coping strategies, as well as whether there is mediation in the relation between parentification and psychopathological symptoms. The study was conducted online on a sample of 235 students from different faculties across the Republic of Croatia. Participants completed Filial Responsibility Scale-Adult (Jurkovic & Thirkield, 1999), Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale-Revised (Tafarodi & Swann, 2001), Brief COPE (Carver, 1997), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). The results have shown that parentification and avoidant coping are positively correlated with psychopathological symptoms, while self-liking, self-competence, and problem-focused coping are negatively correlated with psychopathological symptoms. Furthermore, self-liking predicted lower levels of psychopathological symptoms, while parentification and avoidant coping predicted higher levels of psychopathological symptoms in students. Finally, it has been shown that self-liking and avoidant coping partially mediated the relation between parentification and psychopathological symptoms